Intel wins appeal of patent ruling

WASHINGTON -- Intel (INTC) won an appeal in a patent fight with Negotiated Data Solutions over ethernet patents that make it possible for computers to easily talk to one another.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Monday that Santa Clara-based Intel did not infringe the patents because it had licensed them from National Semiconductor in 1976. National had assigned the patents to Vertical Networks in 1998, which assigned them to N-Data.

Based on the licensing agreement, Intel won the case in a Texas court on summary judgment. The appeals court agreed.

N-Data had also sued Dell, which settled in 2009.

The case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is Intel Corp. v Negotiated Data Solutions, Inc., No. 2011-1448.